Spike in Hong Kong

My favorite blogger in Hong Kong is Spike. He talks about his life, his problems, his challenges, and his love of obscure music, which I also love. He has a RSS feed, and if you are interested in his observations, then add his site. Always great stuff.

Of course June 4th isn't just my mom's birthday, it's also the 20th anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square, as noted here and in thousands of other places. And it seems that the turnout for the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park tonight tied the record set by the first vigil back in 1990, with at least 150,000 people showing up. Donald Tsang speaks for all Hong Kong. It. Is. To. Laugh. I wonder - maybe Tsang is a closet advocacy for democracy after all and he knew if he said something really stupid and offensive, it would result in a record turnout like this?

Also in the news, I see that David Carradine was found dead in a hotel room in Bangkok, aged 72. The star of the Kung Fu TV series, Death Race 2000 and Tarantino's Kill Bill was in Thailand working on a film. Thai police say that a hotel maid told them that she found him on a chair in a closet with a rope around his neck and "other parts of his body."

Blues great Koko Taylor died this week as well, aged 80. She had a million-selling single back in 1965 with Wang Dang Doodle, a song that she thought was silly, but it proved the foundation for a 40 year career. I saw her live once at the Bottom Line in New York City in the 70s. Can't recall who she was opening for, but I confess that I had no idea who she was before she came out on stage. With that voice and stage presence, I've been a fan ever since. Here she is back in 1967 singing Wang Dang Doodle, with the great Little Walter blowing the harp.